The widespread of tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) has a serious impact on the clinical efficacy of tigecycline. The development of effective antibiotic adjuvants to combat the looming tigecycline resistance is needed. The synergistic activity between the natural compound β-thujaplicin and tigecycline in vitro was determined by the checkerboard broth microdilution assay and time-dependent killing curve. The mechanism underlining the synergistic effect between β-thujaplicin and tigecycline against tet(X4)-positive Escherichia coli was investigated by determining cell membrane permeability, bacterial intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, iron content, and tigecycline content. β-thujaplicin exhibited potentiation effect on tigecycline against tet(X4)-positive E. coli in vitro, and presented no significant hemolysis and cytotoxicity within the range of antibacterial concentrations. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that β-thujaplicin significantly increased the permeability of bacterial cell membranes, chelated bacterial intracellular iron, disrupted the iron homeostasis and significantly increased intracellular ROS level. The synergistic effect of β-thujaplicin and tigecycline was identified to be related to interfere with bacterial iron metabolism and facilitate bacterial cell membrane permeability. Our studies provided theoretical and practical data for the application of combined β-thujaplicin with tigecycline in the treatment of tet(X4)-positive E. coli infection.
Humans ; Tigecycline/pharmacology* ; Escherichia coli/metabolism* ; Reactive Oxygen Species/therapeutic use* ; Plasmids ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/metabolism* ; Escherichia coli Infections/microbiology* ; Bacteria/genetics* ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the phylogenetics and prevalence of bloodstream infections with ST131, the antimicrobial resistance profiles of the pathogens, and the clinical features. METHODS: Non-duplicate isolates were collected from 144 patients with bloodstream infections in our hospital between January and December, 2016.The phylogenetic groups of the isolates were analyzed using multiplex PCR, and O serotyping of ST131 strains was performed by allele-specific PCR.The clinical characteristics of the 144 patients were analyzed to define the differences in the clinical features between patients with ST131 infection and those with non-ST131 infection.Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was determined using the Vitek 2 compact system. RESULTS: The phylogenetic group analysis showed a domination by group B2 (41.0%[59/144]), followed by group F, group B1 and group E, which accounted for 16.7%(24/144), 13.9%(20/144), and 13.2% (19/144), respectively.Nine strains (6.3%) of were identified to be ST131 strains, among which 8 were O25b-B2-ST131 strains and 1 was O16-B2-ST131 strain.Of the 9 cases of ST131 infection, 7(77.8%) were found to occur in a nosocomial setting.The demographic characteristics and clinical features of the ST131-infected patients were similar to those of non-ST131-infected patients.ST131 strains were sensitive to piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, ertapenem, and amikacin, but showed high resistance rates to cefazolin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, gentamicin, and trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (all over 50%).The positivity rate of ESBLs in the ST131 strains was 77.8%, and the multidrug resistance rate reached 88.9%, which was higher than that of non-ST131 isolates, but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The most common phylogenetic groups of isolates from patients with bloodstream infections are group B2 and F, and the positivity rate of ST131 is low.We for the first time detected O16-ST131 in patients with blood-borne infections in China.The clinical features of ST131-infected patients are similar to those of non-ST131-infected patients.The positivity rate of ESBLs and the multidrug resistance rate are high in ST131 strains, which may raise concerns in the future.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Bacteremia ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; China ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Escherichia coli ; classification ; drug effects ; genetics ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Genotype ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Epidemiology ; Phylogeny ; Species Specificity

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of cefoxitin prophylactic in reducing the incidence of severe infection after transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB).

METHODSThis retrospective study included 155 cases of TRPB with a 5-day administration of oral levofloxacin at 200 mg bid (the control group) and another 167 cases with a 3-day administration of oral levofloxacin at the same dose plus intravenous cefoxitin at 2.0 g 2 hours before TRPB (the experimental group) according to the distribution characteristics of drug-resistance bacteria in our department. The patients of the control and experimental groups were aged (68.68 ± 8.12) and (68.72 ± 7.51) years, with PSA levels of (19.78 ± 21.57) and (21.15 ± 42.63) μg/L, involving (11.68 ± 1.44) and (11.77±1.02) biopsy cores, respectively. Comparisons were made between the two groups of patients in the incidence rate of severe infection, which was defined as lower urinary track symptoms plus the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) within 7 days after TRPB.

RESULTSThe incidence rate of postoperative severe infection was significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control (0.6% ［1/167］ vs 5.8% ［9/155］, P < 0.05). Blood cultures revealed positive E-coli strains in 6 cases in the control group, including 5 ESBL-positive and 4 quinolone-resistant and amikacin-sensitive cases, all sensitive to cefoxitin, cefoperazone/sulbactam and imipenem. The only one case of severe infection was shown to be negative in blood culture.

CONCLUSIONSPreoperative intravenous administration of cefoxitin according to the specific distribution characteristics of drug-resistance bacteria can significantly reduce the incidence of severe infection after TRPB.

Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Biopsy ; adverse effects ; methods ; Cefoxitin ; therapeutic use ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Escherichia coli ; isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli Infections ; microbiology ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Levofloxacin ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications ; blood ; prevention & control ; Prostate ; pathology ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVETo investigated the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects of anthocyanins extracted from black soybean on the chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) rat model.

METHODSThe Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups, including control, ciprofloxacin, anthocyanins and anthocyanins with ciprofloxacin groups (n=8 in each group). Then, drip infusion of bacterial suspension (Escherichia coli Z17 O:K:H) into Sprague-Dawley rats was conducted to induce CBP. In 4 weeks, results of prostate tissue, urine culture, and histological analysis on the prostate were analyzed for each group.

RESULTSThe use of ciprofloxacin, anthocyanins, and anthocyanins with ciprofloxacin showed statistically significant decreases in bacterial growth and improvements in the reduction of prostatic inflammation compared with the control group (P<0.05). The anthocyanins with ciprofloxacin group showed a statistically significant decrease in bacterial growth and improvement in prostatic inflammation compared with the ciprofloxacin group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that anthocyanins may have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, as well as a synergistic effect with ciprofloxacin. Therefore, we suggest that the combination of anthocyanins and ciprofloxacin may be effective in treating CBP to obtain a higher rate of treatment success.

Acinar Cells ; drug effects ; pathology ; Animals ; Anthocyanins ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Infective Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Chronic Disease ; Disease Models, Animal ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; urine ; Fibrosis ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Prostate ; drug effects ; microbiology ; pathology ; Prostatitis ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; urine ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Severity of Illness Index ; Soybeans ; chemistry ; Urine ; microbiology

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) causes neonatal and post-weaning diarrhea in pigs. In order to determine the risk factors, rectal/fecal swabs and visceral organs obtained from pig farms in two regions of South Africa were analyzed microbiologically against risk variables. Seventy-two percent of young pigs were found to be positive for ETEC toxin genes; estB (38.9%), estB/STAP (25%), and estB/LT (13.9%) were dominant. Risk factors for ETEC-diarrhea in pigs include: leaving sick piglets in a pen with healthy piglets [odds ratio (OR) = 33.52; P < 0.0001]; water spillage in pen (OR = 42.87; P < 0.0001); hypothermic piglets (OR = 7.29; P < 0.0001); runt piglets in pen with healthy littermates (OR = 3.65; P < 0.0001); and prolonged use of antibiotics (OR = 3.05; P = 0.05).
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Diarrhea ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Escherichia coli Infections ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; veterinary ; Genes, Bacterial ; Prevalence ; Rectum ; microbiology ; Risk Factors ; South Africa ; Swine ; Swine Diseases ; epidemiology ; microbiology ; Weaning

Objective: To understand the etiological characteristics of bacterial diarrhea in different areas, including large cities, mid-sized/small cities and rural area, in China. Methods: A cross-sectional surveillance was conducted in 17 provinces of China from 2010 to 2014. The acute diarrhea outpatients were selected from clinics or hospitals in large cities, mid-sized/small cities, including rural-urban fringe zones, and rural areas. The demographical and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected by using questionnaire, and stool samples were taken from them for laboratory detection of 17 kinds of bacteria. The differences in pathogen positive rates (PPR) and pathogen spectrum across the cases from three-type areas were compared. The different infection risk in different cases were analyzed with unconditional logistic regression model. Results: In our study, we enrolled 9 253 cases from large cities, 5 138 cases from rural areas and 13 683 cases from midsized/small cites. The pathogen with largest differences in infection rate across the three-type areas was Shigella (S.) flexneri (rural area: 5.81%, mid-sized/small city: 2.78%, large city: 0.46%), followed by Aeromonas (A.) hydrophila (rural area: 2.14%, mid-sized/small city: 0.96%, large city: 0.48%). Compared with cases in large cities, the cases in mid-sized/small cities and rural areas had higher infection risks for S. flexneri (mid-sized/small city: OR=6.481, 95%CI: 4.666-9.002, rural area: OR=11.304, 95%CI: 8.018-15.938) and A. hydrophila (mid-sized/small city: OR=1.992, 95%CI:1.401-2.832, rural area: OR=4.083, 95%CI: 2.833-5.884). The constituent ratio of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella increased with the urbanization development, while the ratios of Shigella and A. hydrophila had an opposite trend. S. sonnei (60.00%) was the predominant serogroup of Shigella in urban infections, while S. flexneri (77.37%) was the predominant serogroup in rural infections. Conclusion: The differences in pathogen spectrum of bacterial diarrhea were obvious across large cities, mid-sized/small cities and rural areas in China, especially the differences in the infection rates of S. flexneri and A. hydrophila.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Bacterial Infections/microbiology* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diarrhea/microbiology* ; Dysentery/epidemiology* ; Escherichia coli/pathogenicity* ; Feces/virology* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Rural Population ; Salmonella/pathogenicity* ; Shigella/pathogenicity* ; Suburban Population ; Urban Population

BACKGROUNDThe accuracy of nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) specimens in detecting lower respiratory pathogens remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of aspirates (NPAs) specimen in lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children.

METHODSThe prospective study was designed to collect the data of paired NPAs and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from children with acute LRTIs from January 2013 to December 2015. All specimens were subjected to pathogen detection: bacterial detection by culture, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) detection by polymerase chain reaction assay and virus (influenza A and B viruses, parainfluenza virus [PIV] Types 1 and 3, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus) detection by immunofluorescence assay. The diagnostic accuracy analysis of NPAs was stratified by age ≤3 years (n = 194) and >3 years (n = 294).

RESULTSWe collected paired specimens from 488 children. The positive rate of pathogen was 61.6%. For Streptococcus pneumoniae, NPA culture had the specificity of 89.9% and negative predictive value of 100% in age ≤3 years, the specificity of 97.2% and negative predictive value of 98.9% in age >3 years. For Mp, the positive predictive values of NPA was 77.4% in children ≤3 years, and 89.1% in children >3 years. For PIV III, NPA specimen had the specificity of 99.8% and negative predictive value of 96.5% in children ≤3 years. For adenovirus, NPA had the specificity of 97.8% and negative predictive value of 98.4% in age ≤3 years, the specificity of 98.9% and negative predictive value of 99.3% in age >3 years.

CONCLUSIONSNPAs are less invasive diagnostic respiratory specimens, a negative NPA result is helpful in "rule out" lower airway infection; however, a positive result does not reliably "rule in" the presence of pathogens.

Acinetobacter baumannii ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; methods ; Enterobacter aerogenes ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Escherichia coli ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Female ; Haemophilus influenzae ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Nasopharynx ; microbiology ; Prospective Studies ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; diagnosis ; microbiology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Staphylococcus aureus ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; isolation & purification ; pathogenicity

INTRODUCTIONIncreasing resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to firstline antibiotics makes therapeutic options for urinary tract infections (UTIs) challenging. This study investigated the in vitro efficacies of 6 antibiotics against multidrug resistant (MDR) uropathogens.

MATERIALS AND METHODSMinimum inhibitory concentrations to ceftibuten, cefpodoxime, fosfomycin, mecillinam, temocillin, and trimethoprim were determined against 155 MDR-isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae. The presence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) and plasmid-borne AmpC enzymes was determined by phenotypic testing with genotyping performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTSTemocillin demonstrated highest susceptibility rates for both E. coli (95%) and K. pneumoniae (95%) when breakpoints for uncomplicated UTIs were applied; however, temocillin susceptibility was substantially lower when "systemic infection" breakpoints were used. Fosfomycin demonstrated the best in vitro efficacy of the orally available agents, with 78% and 69% of E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates susceptible, respectively. The next most effective antibiotics were ceftibuten (45%) and mecillinam (32%). ESBL and ampC genes were present in 47 (30%) and 59 (38%) isolates.

CONCLUSIONThis study demonstrated few oral therapeutic options for MDR-uropathogens, with fosfomycin demonstrating the best in vitro activity.

Amdinocillin ; pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins ; genetics ; Ceftizoxime ; analogs & derivatives ; pharmacology ; Cephalosporins ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial ; genetics ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; genetics ; Escherichia coli Infections ; microbiology ; Fosfomycin ; pharmacology ; Genotype ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Klebsiella Infections ; microbiology ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; drug effects ; genetics ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Penicillins ; pharmacology ; Singapore ; Trimethoprim ; pharmacology ; Urinary Tract Infections ; microbiology ; beta-Lactamases ; genetics

This study aimed to provide evidence of persistent uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) in female patients with recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) after antibiotic therapy. We collected biopsies of the bladder, and clean-catch urine samples from 32 women who had episodes of recurrent UTI and were given antibiotic therapy. Urine samples and biopsies were analyzed by conventional bacteriological techniques. Phylogenetic group and 16 virulence factors (VFs) of UPEC were determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The infection capability of UPEC was confirmed in a mouse model. Immunofluorescence and electron microscopy were used to detect intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs) in the mouse model. The results showed that all urine specimens were detected sterile. E. coli was found in 6 of 32 biopsies (18.75%), and was identified to be UPEC by PCR. Different VFs associated with the formation of IBCs were identified in all six UPEC isolates. Each UPEC isolate was capable of forming IBCs within the bladder epithelial cells of mice. In conclusion, UPEC with distinctive pathological traits and the capability of IBC formation was first found in the bladders of women after antibiotic therapy, suggesting that the IBC pathogenic pathway may occur in humans and it plays an important role in UTI recurrence.
Adult ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; administration & dosage ; Biopsy ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Mice ; Middle Aged ; Phylogeny ; Urinary Bladder ; drug effects ; microbiology ; pathology ; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; genetics ; pathogenicity

OBJECTIVETo study the preventive effect of herbal formulation on experimental murine urinary tract infection (UTI) induced by Dr Escherichia coli 11128.

METHODSE. coli 11128 carrying Dr fimbriae was isolated from patients with chronic pyelonephritis. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of herbal solution for E. coli 11128 was determined for further studies. Forty C3H/HeJ mice were divided into the herb-treated group (n=20, given Chinese herbs by gavage at an average dose of 20 g/kg body weight daily 3 days before inoculation), and control group (n=20, given the same amount of distilled water by gavage). Three and 6 days after infection, bacteria were counted in the urine and the kidneys of the mice. Kidney histopathologic changes were evaluated. Neutrophils infiltration and accumulation were detected.

RESULTSThe MIC value of herbal solution was 0.1 g/mL for the E. coli 11128. In herb-treated mice, there was a significant reduction in bacterial counts in urine and colonization densities of kidneys. Microscopic studies revealed signs of inflammation in kidneys. In herb-treated mice, herbal administration resulted in significantly reduced neutrophilic infiltrates (P<0.05). The semi-quantitative scores for renal lesions were significantly lower (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONProphylactic administration of herbal formulation potentiated the effect in partially preventing experimental murine ascending UTI.

Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; Escherichia coli Infections ; drug therapy ; prevention & control ; Female ; Kidney ; drug effects ; pathology ; Mice, Inbred C3H ; Phytotherapy ; Urinary Tract Infections ; drug therapy ; microbiology ; prevention & control